MySRA log jam cleared in 'record time'

The SRA cleared a log jam in its online PC renewal system at the start of this month in “record time” and 2,500 applications have been completed, the regulator said yesterday. A further 9,000 applications had been ‘created’ using MySRA.

The SRA admitted experiencing “volume issues” when the renewal system went live at the start of this month.

Solicitors who could not log on were advised to try again later as site experienced “very high levels of usage”.

The regulator is under pressure to avoid the problems that blighted the launch of MySRA last year and resulted in the deadline being pushed back to March 2012.

In an update yesterday, the regulator said: “Initial user volumes were much higher than expected requiring Group IT, Logica and TCS [Tata Consultancy Services] to improve throughput and increase capacity quickly, which was done in record time.

“Further improvements have been identified to improve response times and are being implemented in a controlled manner by the team working closely with the business.

“Individuals and firms who have not yet started the PC renewal process are strongly encouraged to update their details in MySRA and submit the appropriate renewal application, to ensure they meet the deadline for submission and payment of Friday, 14 December.”

In a separate development, the regulator said the number of firms who have not yet nominated or who have only partially completed the nomination process was “now around 400”.

The SRA said it was “working actively to reduce these figures as rapidly as we can.”

This followed comments by Charles Plant, chairman of the SRA, in a speech to Somerset and Devon Law Society earlier this week.

Plant said that more than 500 firms had failed to nominate compliance officers and there were a significant number of cases where COLPs and COFAs had been nominated even though there were ‘regulatory issues’ about them.